March 18, 2020, Hyderabad: The 1st annual Hyderabad FC Youth Football Tournament, The Hyderabad Football League - Rookies Cup III and Hyderabad Football League - Women’s Season – I finals were concluded at FoodBall Park, Jubilee Hills on Sunday, 15 March, 2020.

Hyderabad FC along with HFL organised this tournament in order to effectively promote and manage youth football, and encourage more girls to play this beautiful game. HFC decided on a strategic start of the tournament which would accommodate the numerous players who are interested to play the game and and hence give a fair opportunity for a wider pool of football players to participate in this year’s youth tournament.

In a keenly contested match for the women’s final CFA beat HFL 3-1. In the men’s final FK7 outplayed Onslaught FC 4-0 to be crowned champions. Simran Katyal and Taher Uddin were awarded the golden ball for their outstanding performances throughout the tournament. India Under-23 International and Hyderabad FC player, Asish Rai was the chief guest for the event and gave away the awards.

Adil Mistry, Director of HFL, said, “The support from HFC has been immense. It helped us to pull this tournament off so successfully. It was great to have Asish Rai here and all the players were really excited to see him. We are hopeful that this partnership of HFC and HFL together will change the football culture in the city, in the long run.”

Speaking on the occasion, Asish Rai, Hyderabad FC player said, “Playing matches is instrumental in shaping how we play and this football tournament would definitely work as a confidence booster for all the participants. We should organize more tournaments like this and my advise to the teams are that practice always pays off, and participants must learn to bounce back in case they do not win”.

About Hyderabad Football Club (HFC):

Hyderabad F.C, an Indian professional football club representing the city in the Hero Indian Super League came into the spotlight on 27 August 2019, when Mr. Varun Tripuraneni and Mr. Vijay Madduri acquired the franchise. Mr. Varun Tripuraneni is the former CEO of Kerala Blasters and the former COO of Chennaiyin F.C. while Mr. Vijay Madduri is a Hyderabad based tech entrepreneur.

Another co-owner of the team is the businessman and actor Mr. Rana Daggubati, whose passion for sports needs no introduction. He truly believes in the game of football and having him on board with Hyderabad F.C. will help boost the sport in Hyderabad.

Mr. Rana Daggubati, Mr. Varun Tripuraneni and Mr. Vijay Madduri are all proud and excited to create a legacy with the team in the world of football and to regain the pride of Hyderabad, a city with a strong past in the sport.

About Hyderabad Football League (HFL):

Responsible for reviving the footballing culture in Hyderabad, HFL the biggest mini-football league in the city, was started in 2016. It has hosted 3 successful seasons so far with cash rewards for the winning teams amounting upto 9 lakh. One of the seasons saw Telugu movie star and an avid sports buff Akhil Akkineni as the brand ambassador for HFL. To top it all, HFL had ace Indian footballer Bhaichung Bhutia as its league mentor.

There have been 3 seasons so far, with 400 players taking part during the same. The aim of HFL is to give an opportunity to all the talented players in the city to play and showcase their skills in a league that is professionally run and gives them the opportunity to play with and against the best players from Hyderabad. HFL uses the existing infrastructure i.e., all the good 5-a-side football grounds across the city. Thus, creating a good football ecosystem.